“We’ll cross the bridge when we get there” - Robin Uthappa’s cheeky response on Ishan Kishan vs KL Rahul debate

Former India batter Robin Uthappa has smartly sidestepped a tough query on who should be India’s first-choice keeper-batter between Ishan Kishan and KL Rahul heading into the 2023 World Cup. When the question was posed to him, he replied that it would be better to cross the bridge when they got there.

A massive debate is underway among cricket fans and experts over India’s keeper-batter for the 2023 World Cup. While KL Rahul was the preferred choice a few months back, Ishan Kishan has put his name in contention with some strong performances in one-day cricket even as the former has been grappling with fitness issues.

On Saturday, Kishan smashed 82 off 81 balls in the Asia Cup 2023 match against Pakistan in Pallekele, his fourth consecutive fifty in the ODI format. The left-hander batter added 138 for the fifth wicket with Hardik Pandya (87 off 90) as India recovered from 66/4 to post a competitive 266 after winning the toss and batting first.

During a discussion on ESPNcricinfo, Uthappa was asked who according to him should be India’s first-choice keeper-batter in ODIs. Finding himself in a spot, he responded:

“We’ll cross the bridge when we get there.”

The 37-year-old was, however, effusive in his praise of the left-handed batter. While analyzing the Kishan-Pandya stand, he commented:

“It was an excellent performance from Ishan. I liked the way he started and his partnership with Hardik was really good. I feel Hardik gave a lot of confidence to Ishan. As a senior pro, he was calm out there at one end and absorbed the pressure very well. That’s one of the reasons Ishan was able to bat with confidence," Uthappa stated.

“He played clean cricketing shots and increased his momentum after a while and started attacking the spinners exceptionally well,” Uthappa added.

Kishan struck nine fours and two sixes in his innings before miscuing an attempted pull off Haris Rauf.

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Gautam Gambhir backs Ishan Kishan over KL Rahul

Meanwhile, former India opener Gautam Gambhir has backed Kishan over Rahul as Team India’s preferred keeper in the one-day format. According to Gambhir, form is more important than name when you are looking to win a World Cup.

During a debate with Mohammad Kaif on Star Sports, he opined:

"To win the World Cup, name is more important or form? Had Kohli or Rohit made those four consecutive fifties, would you have said the same thing about KL Rahul? When you are preparing to win a World Cup, you don't look at a name, you look at the form of a player that could win you the trophy.”

According to a report in Indian Express, both Rahul and Kishan will be part of India’s 15-member World Cup 2023 squad.